Ross Rubin

Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research, which he founded in 2012. Reticle Research analyzes consumer adoption and usage of technology.

Prior to founding Reticle Research, Rubin was executive director of industry analysis for consumer technology at The NPD Group, a market research firm well-known for tracking sales of electronics, PCs, cell phones and other consumer gadgets. Prior to joining NPD, Rubin was vice president and chief research fellow at Jupiter Research, where he founded the firm's first technology research practice covering Net-connected devices as well as the evolution of broadband and wireless data. Rubin also created the firm's research report structural guidelines.

Rubin has been a frequent speaker at many industry events, including CES, CTIA and IFA. He has written the Switched On column for Engadget since 2004, and also maintains columns at ABCNews.com, TechCrunch and TUAW.

Latest from Ross Rubin

Musicians have trouble spending time away from their instruments. But bulky instruments, especially guitars, aren’t very portable and cannot be left in cars or public places where they may be stolen. Those with busy lives who like making music are left with few options. Read More

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research, a technology, media and telecom advisory firm, and founder of Backerjack. He blogs at Techspressive. Each week, Backerjack shares three tech-related products seeking funding.
There’s nothing that grandparents love more than photos of their grandkids. Photo sharing these days is easy with the Internet and… Read More

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research, a technology, media and telecom advisory firm, and founder of Backerjack. He blogs at Techspressive. Each week, Backerjack shares three tech-related products seeking funding.
Talk to your home and have it listen and respond with ALYT
Part of the smart-home dream has always been being able to talk with a place of… Read More

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
Part videogame accessory and part exercise equipment, the Virtuix Omni was inspired by the success of Kinect a few years ago, itself a response to the “Wiimote controller” that defined Nintendo’s last gaming console. While both products get you off the couch, they… Read More

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one. A guy walks into a watch store and… a smartwatch business partnership is formed. OK, it’s not a funny joke; in fact, it’s not a joke at all. When Secret Labs’ founder and CTO Chris Walker walked into the House of Horology store… Read More

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
It’s been six months since PlayJam’s GameStick started its off-again, on-again Kickstarter campaign that netted it nearly $650,000 — well beyond its $100,000 goal. While it attracted less than a tenth of the funds that its predecessor OUYA nabbed for its Android-based home… Read More

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
Connectify, a Philadelphia-based software company obsessed with making the Internet faster and using Kickstarter to do so, this week pulled the plug on Switchboard, its most recent connectivity campaign. Alex Gizis, Connectify’s CEO, said his backers wanted it that way. Connectify is… Read More

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
An ancient and once-sacred bond between author and audience, reading and writing have become but two more tasks along with a multitude of other things that we do on a host of digital devices — watcing videos, listening to music, playing games, and really anything except using Facebook Home. Read More

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
These days, it seems that anything that whiffs of the traditional PC has all the market appeal of a month-old banana. Microsoft and its hardware cohorts are trying to fight back against the image of the staid tower and notebook with touch-enabled, all-in-one computers, clickety-covered tablets… Read More

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
One of the hottest areas of tech interest right now is the Internet of Things, wherein everyday objects communicate with each other. As doorknobs and clothing learn to communicate, we can only… Read More

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
The mere mention of those particular articles of clothing that protect our private bits from coming into contact with our clothing (or perhaps vice versa) has long been enough to drive children… Read More

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
Backed or Whacked first explored the murky underworld of iPad wearing devices last November. The GoPad saw its Kickstarter campaign whacked despite a temptation-inducing expository video. With… Read More

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
Last week, Backed or Whacked look at a trio of wristbands that can hold a buck, make a bun and prevent a burn all without any assistance from a successful mobile app platform. But as a host of… Read More

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
Crowdfunding sites have become a breeding ground for smartwatches and even a fair number of dumb watches. But assuming one opts in for such a portable time-telling conveyance, that usually leaves… Read More

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
There are a number of schools regarding the existence of alien intelligent races. Among those who refute that we’ve been able to detect extraterrestrials among us, there are a broad range of theories. Perhaps such beings don’t exist. Perhaps they haven’t advanced far enough… Read More

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
Last week’s Backed or Whacked column looked at a trio of small, easily attached bicycle accessories that could beef up your ride’s horn, assist in toting shopping bags, or add more… Read More

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
Back in January, Backed or Whacked looked at three crowdfunding projects that were aimed at getting novel takes on bicycles off the ground, or at least on the ground. But not every crowdfunded… Read More

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
Our furry friends are often labelled our faithful companions, but their loyalty can often come at a price. Indiegogo inventors have been applying creativity to address each of these options to… Read More

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
Once rejected by Kickstarter, the smartphone-controlled door lock Lockitron was a crowdfunding hit on its own site. Still, for the foreseeable future, most locks will be opened with the insertion… Read More

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
Kickstarter has seen its share of campaigns that spin out of control, but it’s a lot more impressive when spin is in control. Seeing that potential, a trio of tethered toys has recently cropped up on the site, with each appealing to different levels of rotational robustness. Read More